Children’s lives are set to be saved with the launch of an improved service that will see expert paediatricians travelling with critically ill youngsters.

In a major boost to healthcare in the region, Nectar - North East Children’s Transport And Retrieval - will prove a lifeline to the hundreds of desperately ill children travelling to the area’s Paediatric Intensive Care Units.

Dr Iain Johnstone, consultant paediatric intensivist and co-clinical director of Newcastle’s Great North Children’s Hospital, said: “The Great North Children’s Hospital alone performs in the region of 250 retrievals each year. These are for children, infants and even new-born babies who are extremely unwell with conditions such as organ failure, life-threatening heart problems, traumatic injuries and severe respiratory illnesses.

Opening of the new dedicated children's paramedic hub at the old General Hospital site

“The new, improved service embraces the involvement of other paediatric specialists in the North East and will offer a much more streamlined and overarching approach for children all over the region.”

The life-saving service has been further enhanced by the unveiling of a brand new base for the children’s specialist retrieval team and two hi-tech ambulances adorned with the Nectar logo and kitted out as mobile intensive care units.

The aim of Nectar is to make sure critically ill children are transported rapidly by an expert team to one of the Paediatric Intensive Care Units in the North East; the Great North Children’s Hospital at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), the Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle and the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Members of the Nectar team are currently based in various major Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) across the region as part of the North of England Critical Care Network. They have extensive experience in providing expert care for critically ill children who need to be transported between hospitals using specifically designed ambulances.

Opening of the new dedicated children's paramedic hub at the old General Hospital site

The new headquarters will help the life-saving service run as efficiently as possible, at the Campus of Ageing and Vitality (CAV), previously known as the site of Newcastle General Hospital, in the west of the city.

Specialist ambulances will be based there due to the close proximity to both the A1 and the A69, allowing the team to reach ill children in as little time as possible.

The ambulances, described as ‘mobile intensive care units’, have been specifically developed to improve the chances of children surviving. They will be operated by blue light-trained drivers and will allow one parent to travel with their child.

Opening of the new dedicated children's paramedic hub at the old General Hospital site

Dr Johnstone added: “We envisage that Nectar will become a comprehensive transport service, not just for those requiring intensive care. We will endeavour to repatriate children to hospitals closer to home and ensure timely transport to specialist services for those who require it.”

Lesley Durham, director and lead nurse of the North of England Critical Care Network (NoECCN) said: “This bespoke service delivered by highly skilled experts using state of the art equipment will undoubtedly strengthen the quality and safety of transport of critically ill children and ensure that they are rapidly retrieved or transferred to the correct clinical environment.”